Map of Fossil Radiation Seen by Planck - The cosmic microwave background as seen by...

Map of Fossil Radiation Seen by Planck - The cosmic microwave background as seen by Planck - The European Space Agency's Planck space telescope is the source of the data on the most detailed map ever drawn of the Cosmological Hyperrequency background radiation - the fossil radiation of the Big Bang. This image is based on data from the first 15 months of Planck operation. It is the first image of this mission that shows on the whole sky the oldest emission of light that bathed our young Universe when it was only 380,000 years old. The Universe was then filled with a burning magma of protons, electrons, and photons intertwining at about 2700oC. The interaction between protons and electrons that gave rise to the hydrogen atoms then released light. As a result of the expansion of the Universe, this light has been extended until today reaches hyperfrequency wavelengths equivalent to a temperature of just 2.7 degrees above the absolute zero. This hyperfrequency cosmological background radiation - CMB - exhibits tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities at periods near the origin and carry in them the germ of all future structures, stars and galaxies we know today. Acquired by Esa's Planck space telescope, the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background - the relic radiation from the Big Bang - was released revealing the existence of features that challenge the foundations of our current understanding of the Universe. The image is based on the initial 15.5 months of data from Planck and is the mission's first all-sky picture of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when it was just 380,000 years old. At that time, the young Universe was filled with a hot dense soup of interacting protons, electrons and photons at about 2700oC. When the proton